Monthly Archives: October 2021

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Title: When Sparks Fly
Author: Helena Hunting
Series: n/a
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Date: September 21, 2021

Summary:

Running the Spark House, a hotel/event space that has been in her family for years, has been Avery Spark’s lifelong dream. After years of working hard and making personal sacrifices, Avery and her two younger sisters have turned the Spark House into the premier destination in Colorado Springs. Avery is living her best life—she works with her sisters and loves every minute of it, she has a great group of friends, and she lives in a fantastic condo with her best friend Declan. She might not have any love in her life, but she’s happy.

But everything comes to a screeching halt when Avery is in a car accident, leaving her immobile for weeks. After nearly losing Avery, Declan insists that he will be the one to take care of her while she recovers. However, as Declan becomes Avery’s caretaker, lines begin to blur.

Avery and Declan have been best friends since college and always had an attraction to one another, but when she ended up dating his best friend, Sam, they successfully stamped down any feelings they may have ever had for one another. Now, as Declan and Avery spend more time together, they each begin to wonder what would’ve happened if she’d dated him instead of Sam. What starts as a friend helping out another friend turns into foreplay and, before they realize it, they recognize how deeply they care for one another. But when things get serious their past threatens to destroy everything they have built.

Review:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I only gave it three stars, but I think it’s because I’m the wrong audience for this book. First of all, though, I want to say what I liked about it.

From the description, it’s obvious it’s a friends to lovers book. I like Avery, Declan – not so much, but I love Avery’s sisters. I’m looking forward to their books even though I was not thrilled with this one. That’s it. That’s what I liked – Avery’s sisters.

The book is written in first person, alternating between Avery and Declan. That way, the reader gets a lot of information that would be hidden if it used a third person narrator. And that brings me to one of the two things I really didn’t like about it. I don’t like first person and I really don’t like alternating viewpoints. As I implied earlier, it’s a personal taste issue.

However, my real issue with the book is Declan is an immature jerk. He’s thirty-years-old, but acts more like he’s still in college. He makes stupid decisions that hurt other people. He regrets them and accepts his responsibility, but still!!!

Finally, in parts of the book, the dialogue is overblown. Declan and Avery talk to each other like they are sitting in a counselor’s office. No one talks like that in real life.

So yes, three stars, but I will read the sequels. As I said, I want the sisters’ stories.

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews